Stuffing Bread

All the flavors of your favorite Thanksgiving stuffing baked into a loaf of bread!

Yes, you read that title correctly – Stuffing Bread! A loaf of bread that tastes just like your favorite Thanksgiving stuffing. Wow. When I saw this recipe on King Arthur Flour, I knew I HAD to make it for TheBetterHalf. He is a stuffing fanatic. Whenever we talk about Thanksgiving, all he can focus on is stuffing. But I have never actually made stuffing for him. See he likes his grandmothers special stuffing recipe, and I really can’t compete with that. But a loaf of bread that tastes like stuffing? That I can do! And it definitely gets his seal of approval. He declared this his favorite bread that I have ever made. Gold star for me!

This bread is basically a simple white bread that is doctored up. Cornmeal is added for some texture and finely diced onion for both texture and flavor. And then to achieve that signature stuffing flavor, you add in a generous serving of poultry seasoning and celery salt. The smell of the dough alone is intoxicating!

And then when it is baking in the oven – well it smells just like Thanksgiving! The resulting bread is light tender, but still sturdy enough for a sandwich. Imagine the sandwiches that you could make on this bread, especially with Thanksgiving leftovers. TheBetterHalf went right down to the market to buy some freshly carved turkey (I’m in the business of baking, not turkey making. and luckily the market downstairs cooks a giant fresh turkey every day!) and made this beauty:

This bread is also great toasted for breakfast with a little bit of butter. Warming it up really brings out all of the flavors in the spices. Breakfast of champions right here.

This is the perfect bread to make this fall! It will definitely be a crowd pleaser. I mean how can you go wrong with a loaf of bread that tastes like everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish?! You will be very popular if you have this on hand the day after Thanksgiving for leftovers.

Directions
Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment. Mix together, then switch to the dough hook and knead for 5 – 7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. This can also be done by hand.
Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick spray, and let it rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
Grease an 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, shape it into an 8-inch loaf, and place it into prepared pan. Cover with the greased plastic wrap and let it rise until it is 1″ over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour.
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Uncover the bread and place it in the preheated oven. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, until it is golden brown and registers 190°F
Remove bread from the oven and after a minute, gently turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

OMG, I stand united with Anthony about stuffing, although in Texas, it is known as dressing, and it is heavily cornbread, thyme and onions and contains nothing weird like chestnuts or mushrooms. I always try to make it just like my grandmother did…hers was the gold standard. And since Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite dinner of the ENTIRE year, steeped in fine Texas tradition, I’m going out on a limb to say that I’m going to incorporate this recipe into the next best thing, which is Thanksgiving leftover-land. I can only imagine how wonderful a turkey, brie and cranberry sandwich will be on it with homemade mayonnaise. (I’m told that Hellman’s has GMO ingredients, and mayonnaise has too many calories for daily consumption anyway, so I now make it myself for special occasions, and it’s WAY better.)

If this isn’t the best Thanksgiving recipe I’ve seen, I don’t what is! This is SO creative and smart. That sandwich sounds absolutely incredible and I can only imagine how amazing the house smelled. Saving calories and not sacrificing any taste – totally worth pinning and making. Thanks for sharing!

I was driving to the office yesterday and THIS idea popped into my head! I had to find a recipe for it because I knew I couldn’t have been the first to think of it. The dough is currently rising and I can hardly wait to get it in the oven. Thanks.

Hi Cindy! Unfortunately I have never worked with a bread maker, so I’m not sure how it would work. If you try it, let me know! The bread is absolutely delicious – I just made another loaf the other day!

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[…] exciting day of this week for TheBetterHalf – stuffing! I talked about this in my post on Stuffing Bread (side note: make this bread immediately for your leftover turkey sandwiches! so good!), but […]